Ngamarrga (Bark container)
1990
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.), bush string, natural binder
Measurements
21.3 × 33.0 × 86.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of James Mollison AO, 1991
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Lily Karadada was born on her father’s Country, Woomban-go-wangoorr, around the Prince Regent River, Western Australia. Her practice explores diverse media including bark painting, incised slates, bark buckets, decorated shields and other cultural objects. Ngamarrga (Bark container) is a rare example of a ceremonial object specific to the Kimberley region. It is painted with iconography similar to that found throughout caves in the region’s centre and north-west that depict Wandjina – protective ancestral creator beings responsible for bringing the wunju (monsoon) rains. Wunambal people believe that Wandjina spirits, from whom they trace their descent, carried bark buckets in the Ngarrangkarni (Ancestral period).
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Kalumburu, Western Australia
Accession Number
O.28-1991
Department
First Nations Australia